Monthly Archive for April, 2007

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Happy Friday the 13th!

Published on April 13, 2007 in Life and Writing. 10 Comments

First off I want to thank everyone for their kind words on my cover yesterday. I’m still really excited about it and the knowledge that I’m getting closer to my book coming out. I’ll let you all know as soon as I have a release date.  

There is something cool about Friday the 13th, isn’t there? I know there is a lot of superstitions out there, but the  idea that this day is bad luck has always intregued me. Personally, I’ve always had pretty good luck on the 13th, which leads me to believe that luck is what you make it.

I’m really happy today is Friday though. I didn’t get a lot of writing done, maybe around 500 words. I’m actually okay with that. I made some progress on my Halloween story and finished my edits for The Bond That Ties Us. This weekend I think I’m going to dig out my genie story and polish it up. Then I need to figure out who I’m going to send it to.

This weekend I also plan on finishing up the last episode of Stargate: Atlantis and the last five episodes Stargate: SG1 . I’m not going to know what to do with myself once they are done. :(

What are your plans for the weekend?

Thursday Thirteen #22

Published on April 12, 2007 in Thursday Thirteen. 47 Comments

I got my book cover yesterday!! I’m still in awe. :) I thought I’d do a fun Thursday Thirteen this week as a result.

Thirteen Things I did when I saw my cover.
1. Jaw Dropped. You’d think I’d learn to stop checking my home email at work. People are going to start wondering about me.

2. Squealed!. More internal mental squealing until I could get into my car after work. I think there was stilll some shock going on.

3. Closed the file quickly. As I said, I was teaching a class and we were on a break. I didn’t want to scare the new hires. :)

4. Showed my husband. The second I got home I showed him. He was really impressed with it. I wish I hadn’t been so tired or I would have been a lot more enthusiastic. Teaching for eight hours straight is tiring.

5. Posted it on my RWA chapter site. The ladies of my chapter are really supportive and I wanted to share my excitemet with them.

6. Emailed Wylie, Amy, and Vicky. I wanted my three best cyber friends to get a first look at it. Hugs to all of you!

7. Keep opening it to look. Again, I think this is shock. I have to say when I got it, I think it finally sunk in that I’m in the process of publishing my first book. Crazy.

8. Try to figure out who I can show at work. There are some people who I really want to see it. There are some who I’d scare. :)

9. Email my Dad. At work…I love to bug him. Plus he’s retiring in two months so I don’t have many more chances. :)

10. Get nervous. It really has sunk in that my book will be coming out soon. I hope it goes over well.

11. Read the first chapter of Bonds. Seeing the cover inspired me to take a look at the first chapter again. I want to make sure it “feels” like the cover. The story is sci-fi and the cover really isn’t. However, I hope it won’t prevent people from reading it.

12. Squeal again. I got my cover!!!

13. Try and think of a way to work this into a TT list. :D

bonds.jpg

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Random thoughts

Published on April 11, 2007 in Life, TV and Writing. 8 Comments

So many things are going on this week it’s crazy. I finished the first chapter of my Halloween story yesterday, and even got a start on chapter two. I’m going to have to go back and do a bit of editing, but so far I’m really enjoying the characters. I’m going to try and work on chapter two today at lunch (provided I get one) and flush out the characters a bit more. I find it takes me a chapter or two to really get into the flow. I then go back and edit in their quirks in the second pass.

I’m going to hold off on the second draft of Perfect Match until the Halloween story is mostly done. As I’m writing this with Renee Field, I don’t want to hold her back. I also want to get the genie story polished and sent off to a few publishers. We’ll see if I get any bites. :)

The last few nights I haven’t been writing, but instead have been getting caught up on Stargate: Atlantis. I still have a few episodes to go, but I watched the one where one of the main characters died. I won’t say who it was in case you haven’t watched and want to. But I will say I cried. Sobbed like a baby. *sigh* I know why they did it, but I hate that they did it. If they could bring the character back somehow, I think there would be many happy fans out there.

On a personal front, I’m getting pretty tired these days. Even with having a four day weekend, I don’t feel like I got a lot of rest. Not surprising considering my family was over. But I’d rather be tired and have had the weekend with them, than be rested and have missed them. I’m going to be booking my summer vacation soon. I can’t wait for that. :)

Which comes first – the plot or the character

Published on April 10, 2007 in Writing. 7 Comments

I’ve had several reoccurring dreams over the years. Some are really nothing more than a scene or two that get bouncing around my head. Others are more complete – images, sounds, voices. One of those is my upcoming book The Bond That Ties Us. But I have another that’s been yelling for attention recently.

Now I really want to try and develop this dream out into a story. The problem is, I only have two characters and an opening sequence. That’s it! No plot, no black moment. One really sexy scene that I could expand to be about three chapters. This is one of those stories that I wouldn’t want to screw up. It would bother me.

This has got me thinking about how I come up with ideas for my stories. Very rarely do I have much of an external plot to begin with. I work on that through the first draft, as I’m not much of a plotter either. That said, the last two books that I did some basic plotting were much easier to write. It helped when I got to the sagging middle and didn’t know where to go. Knowing that, I think I’m going to take a stab at writing up a basic plot for this story.

It will have to wait in my writing queue though. :) I have the third draft of my genie story, the second draft for Perfect Match, and the first draft of my Halloween story to finish up. Not to mention the plots for four other stories.

Not enough time…

I’m back! Did you miss me??

Published on April 9, 2007 in Goals, Life and Writing. 12 Comments

Well I’ve just seen my family head out and my house is returning to normal. I took an extra day off work so I can get some editing done (and recover from the Easter insanity). I had a great time and it was wonderful to see everyone. How was your holiday??

This week I have another set of edits to finish up. I got them from my editor on Thursday, but wasn’t able to do too much this weekend. I’m hoping to finish most of them today so I can get them back to her as soon as possible. I’m getting anxious for a release date. :)

Friday night I also got to see 300 in the IMAX theatre. I have to say I’m now totally spoiled and won’t go see a movie in a regular theatre again. WOW!! Not only was the movie amazing, but the IMAX experience totally blew me away. There were times when I felt sucked into the movie. I was saying to my sister afterwards, I can just imagine the casting calls for that one.

“Excuse me, how many abs do you have?”
“Six.”
“I’m sorry, not enough. Next!”

Great googlie mooglie! I have enough mental material to write five more books. *sigh*

I’ve missed you all! What are you up to?

Thursday Thirteen #21

Published on April 5, 2007 in Thursday Thirteen. 34 Comments

I’m so excited because my family is coming to visit for Easter weekend. They are arriving Friday at lunch and are staying until Monday. Here are a few of the things I’ll be doing this weekend while they’re here. :)

On a side note, I won’t be very visible this weekend. I’ll try and pop around to say hi to everyone though. :)

Thirteen Things I Plan To Do For Easter Weekend.
1. See 300! I’m going with my husband, sister, brother-in-law, and Dad to see this in the IMAX. We’ve all been waiting so we could go together and I can’t wait!

2. Have some wine. I’m not a big drinker, but this has been a busy week at work and next week will be worse. For this weekend I plan on sitting back, relaxing and enjoying a glass of wine with my family.

3. Play with my niece and nephew. I don’t get to see them very often so I can’t wait to see how much they’ve grown. Plus my girls are really excited to have them staying over. :)

4. Hang out with my parents and sister. We haven’t really seen much of each other since my husband and I moved six years ago. Any chance we have to be all together is great.

5. Learn to knit! My grandmother is coming up as well. Every time I see her I try to get her to teach me how to knit. I’m slowly getting there.

6. Try and sneak some blog time in. A pipe dream I know. With everything going on I doubt I’ll even see my laptop let alone turn it on. :)

7. Watch Movies. Whenever my Dad and I get together, we always seem to watch movies. A lot of them. It’s a great way for me to get caught up on all the cheep movies I’ve picked up at the grocery store. :)

8. Eat. A lot. Enough said.

9. Eat chocolate. This is different thank #8. Everyone who loves chocolate knows this.

10. Hiding eggs. This is one of my favourite things to do. The only better thing is Easter morning when the kids go to find them.

11. Read. I’ll need a bit of unwind time at the end of the day. That means I’ll try and sneak a few chapters in from a book on my TBR list. It’s the only way to get that pile down.

12. Write. I know this won’t happen, but it makes me feel better to put it on my list. I’m thinking about writing.

13. Sleep. Because at the end of the day I’ll be really tired. Happy – but tired. :)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Work Life Balance Tag

Published on April 3, 2007 in Goals, Health and Life. 11 Comments

You all know I love these! I’ve been tagged by Sheelagh at The Screaming Pages on how do I managed a home/work life balance. It’s one of the hardest things I do on a daily basis (yes, even tougher than editing!). So here we go!

How do you achieve balance in your life? My husband. Honest to Pete, I wouldn’t be able to do half of what I have without his support. He currently stays at home with our kids and I work full time. He buys me time on the weekends to do my writing, and cooks and cleans for me through the week. Complete role reversal in my house ladies. I love him to pieces for everything he’s done for me!

I’ve also learned to keep things separate. I have a BlackBerry, but when I go home it goes into my purse and I don’t bring it out to the next day. When I’m home, that’s what I focus in on. At work, that’s where I keep attention. Not everyone has a job like that, but the more of an effort you make to keep the two apart the better you will be.

No one is indispensable in the corporate world. But no one can replace you at home.

What is your biggest challenge in balancing your life? Time. I think this is the same for most people. I find sleeping less and drinking more coffee helps. Seriously, I look at things as they come up. I make a snap decision as to what is the most important thing in my life at that moment. When I have my answer, then I throw my complete attention on it. Focus on one thing at a time means you get more accomplished and the person you are with enjoys your undivided attention. Not easy to do, but I try.

What are your priorities? Me, Family, writing, health. People think it strange that I put myself ahead of my family, but I look at it this way. If I’m unhappy (over weight, depressed, sick, angry, etc) then none of the other things that are important to me will be looked at. Because I care about them all, I need to look after myself first so I can look after the rest. I also want to show my girls that its important to treat yourself with respect. Because if you don’t, no one else will either.

How have your priorities changed over time and why? Yes and no. I used to put others before myself and I almost burned out. The change has done me a world of good.

What advice can you share to help all of us balance our own lives? Write down on a sheet of paper (or on your blog, or computer) what is important to you. Not what you think should be important, but what really matters. Then you need to look at all the stuff going on in your life. If they don’t directly relate to one of your goals, cut it. You don’t need it. Or at the very least, move it to the bottom of the pile. If you have to choose between two (or more) things, look at them in relation to your goals. If it fits in go for it! And don’t feel bad about saying no.

Obsess Much?

Published on April 2, 2007 in Fun. 8 Comments

Selena tagged me to reveal five things I obsess over. I had a similar reaction to her and have to ask, “only five??”. I’ll do my best!

1. Stargate: SG1 / Atlantis. I can’t tell you how much I love these shows. No, I’m not caught up yet, hence my obsessing! I have five episodes of SG1 to finish, and we’re only about three episodes into season three of Atlantis. I’m hoping to get all caught up so I can watch season four on TV in the fall.

2. Writing. I think this might be a given, as if I’m not working, spending time with my husband or kids, I’m writing. Recently, I’ve been obsessing over wanting to have more time to write. Not going to happen any time soon though.

3. Weight. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not over weight. But still, I can’t help but keep it in mind with everything I eat. I used to be quite a bit heavier, and lost 30 lbs exercising like a mad woman. Now I just want to keep it off. If the scale creeps up, I freak out.

4. Heat. I’m always cold. Even in the summer time. So I drive my husband nuts talking about how cold it is in my house. It’s not! I’m just crazy. I wear sweaters in the summer too.

5. My unfinished basement office. Another thing to drive my husband nuts about. He’s working on it and, bless his little soul, he’s almost done. But I’ll be happy when it’s done and I can finish it. Then I’ll have to find something else to obsess over! :D

 That was fun! If you want to play along, feel free to tag yourself (Amy, Angela, Wylie, and Vicky…)

Sex, Love, and Fighting Aliens

Published on April 2, 2007 in Writing. 9 Comments

I’ve discovered the key to editing myself. Short sessions. If I sit down in front of my manuscript for long periods of time when I’m editing I tend to wander. Or worse, not read things as closely as I should. So my post on Thursday about procrastinating while I edit I need to revise and say that those were all good things.

That said, I need to get going and finish up this round. I’m on chapter ten of seventeen, so I’ll be able to finish up in a day or two. I’m going to try and get a chapter done on each of my lunch breaks this week, as well as a chapter each night once my kids are in bed. That will still give me a night to do another read through.

The reason I want to take my time going through, is because of the emotion. I’m trying to add a little more depth and emotion to the love scenes so it will carry through during the encounter with the bad guys near the end of the story. I think while what I had before was good, these changes are really helping.

I hope.

I guess in the end you’ll be the ones who will let me know. :)

It’s Sunday!! Time for goals

Published on April 1, 2007 in Goals, Life and Writing. 8 Comments

It’s a beautiful, wonderful Sunday morning everyone. I have a cup of coffee in my hand and I’m ready to jump back into my edits. I’m about halfway through The Bond That Ties Us, and it’s amazing how much I’m still changing. You’d think that at this stage there would only be small changes I’d need to make, and I guess they are, but they feel big to me. I’ve added almost 10,000 to my manuscript since I’ve started edits. In the end, it will be a much stronger book. :)

My goals for this week are pretty straightforward:

  • Finish edits on Bonds and send back to editor
  • Finish chapter one on Halloween story (poor thing’s been negelected!)
  • Critique a friend’s novella

This is also a short week and I have company coming for Easter, so I need to try and get this all done by Friday. After that I won’t be getting too close to my computer.

On a side note, I’m finally going to get to see 300 on Friday night! I’ve been waiting for my family to come up and we’re going to go see it in the IMAX. I can’t wait!

So what are you up to?